



Class 
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16—27179-1 eP» 



A SUMMARY 

MILITARY HISTOEY 

OF WORCESTER 



A SUMMARY 



MILITARY HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 



By franklin p'^'RICE, 

Life Member of The Worcester Society of Antiquity, 



WORCESTER, MASS.: 
PUTNAM, DAVIS AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 

1895. 






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,v 



ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE COPIES PRINTED. 




* * * 



a "S "1 « "^ " 



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TO 



■Samuel fl^. Putnam, 



AUTHOR OF 



The Story of Company A, 25TH Regt. M. V. 






mm^^^^ 



A SUMMARY 



MILITARY HISTORY OF WORCESTER. 



Very little is known to-day of what sliould properly be classed 
as military affairs in Worcester and its vicinity during the period 
which covers the early and unsuccessful attempts at settlement. 
The male inhabitants were armed if not organized against the 
savage foe, and doubtless more than one shot was fired, but of 
these and other efforts in defence of life and property no definite 
or particular history exists. It is not until after the time of the 
third settlement that recorded facts begin to give the informa- 
tion we seek. During the Indian troubles of 1722 Worcester 
furnished five men to the company of scouts under Major John 
Chandler. In 1723 seven of the inhabitants enlisted as soldiers 
and served during the winter. August 3, 1724, Uriah Ward of 
Worcester, in service at Rutland, was killed by Indians. 

The town contributed liberally to the defence of the province 
during the wars with the French, and expended its means freely 
for the reduction of the fortresses of Nova Scotia and Canada. 
Benjamin Gleason of Worcester died before the walls of Louis- 
burg in 1745, and Adonijah Rice, the first-born of our native 
citizens, was in a company of rangers in the siege. In 1 746 Fort 
Massachusetts at what is now Williamstown was defended by a 



garrison partly of Worcester men. In 1748 a company of fifty- 
three, all from this town, followed the Indians for seventeen days 
but returned without engaging in battle. Seventeen Worcester 
men were in service in Nova Scotia, and seventeen more at Fort 
Cumberland. John Walker was commissioned a captain. Adoni- 
jah Rice and another were in the expedition against Crown Point 
in August. In September there were fourteen volunteers from 
Worcester. Many were in the ranks of the army that acted 
against Crown Point in 1756; and in the two succeeding years 
several were captured, and a number died of wounds and disease 
at Lake George. After the surrender of Fort William Henry the 
whole militia of the town marched to Sheffield, 105 miles distant, 
but the enemy having retired the forces were disbanded. A com- 
pany of Worcester men under Captain Samuel Clark Paine was 
with General Amherst in 175S, and continued in service till the 
peace of 1763. Worcester furnished to the provincial service 
during the French wars i colonel, i lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 
6 captains, 8 lieutenants, 7 ensigns, 27 sergeants, 2 surgeons, i 
chaplain and i adjutant. From 1748 to 1762 there were 453 
men in service from the town, not including those who enlisted 
in the regular army. The name of John Chandler, borne by three 
generations, is prominent in the military annals of the town dur- 
ing this period, and the title of Colonel descended from father to 
son and grandson. The above facts are from the Town Records, 
Lincoln's History of Worcester and Blake's Indian Troubles in 
Rutland. 

In the American Revolution Worcester was foremost in con- 
tributing men and means to the cause. Lincoln says : "Worces- 
ter furnished a large proportion of her male population to the 
army. The exact number in service cannot be ascertained with 



certainty. If we include with the troops of the regular line those 
called out for short periods of duty, the following may be con- 
sidered as a correct statement of the numbers of men from 
Worcester in military service during seven years of war : i colo- 
nel, 2 lieutenant-colonels, 2 majors, 7 captains, 10 lieutenants, 5 
ensigns, 20 sergeants and 389 privates." The name of Colonel 
Timothy Bigelow will ever be illustrious in military annals. A 
history in detail of the revolutionary acts of the town will be found 
in Albert A. Lovell's IVorccsU'r in the Revolution. 

In Shays's Rebellion Worcester men were found on both sides. 
In 1807, when it was apprehended that hostilities with England 
would immediately ensue, the Worcester Light Infantry tendered 
their services in defence of the country. Adam Walker, a son of 
John Walker of Worcester, enlisted in the regular army, was in 
the battle of Tippecanoe, and was hit by bullets several times, 
but was not injured. In later service he was with Hull's army at 
Detroit, was included in the surrender and sent to Halifax. After 
his e.xchange he wrote a book reflecting severely on General Hull. 
This volume is rare and commands a large price. A copy is in 
the possession of The Worcester Society of Antiquity among the 
treasures of the George Allen Library. 

The war of 1812 was not popular in this vicinity, and not a 
large number of Worcester men were in service. Sabin Mann, 
son of Joseph Mann of Worcester, was killed at Queenstown in 
1812. The Light Infantry and the Artillery company marched 
to the defence of the coast on the threatened British attack in 
September, 1814, and remained in camp near Boston several 
weeks. In this war Massachusetts furnished 3,110 men. Thomas 
Gardner Mower, at a later period Surgeon-General of the United 
States Army, was a native of Worcester. 



8 

The Mexican war did not find much favor in the eyes of New 
England people. Pollard, a Southern authority (how trustworthy 
we cannot say), states that of 66,684 ™en engaged, the South 
furnished 43,630. Of the New England States only Massachu- 
setts and New Hampshire contributed, the former sending 1,047 
and the latter i, which must have been General Franklin Pierce, 
afterwards President of the United States. The same writer claims 
that of the 155,364 soldiers in the war of 1812, the South fur- 
nished 96,812 and the North 58,552. New England sent 5,162 
and South Carolina 5,696. In the Me.\ican war Captain George 
Lincoln, a son of ex-Governor Levi Lincoln, was killed at Euena 
Vista, February 23, 1847 > ^'^^ Lieutenant John Green Burbank, 
another Worcester man, fell at Molino del Rey, September 8, 
1847. So bitter was the feeling in this vicinity against the war 
that while the funeral procession of Captain Lincoln was passing 
some of the shopkeepers of Main street displayed emblems and 
placards which reflected upon the Government and the course of 
the deceased. 

When the first gun of the Rebellion was fired at Fort Sumter, 
Worcester was ready, and on the 17th of April, 1861, the Light 
Infantry departed for Washington. This company belonged to 
the ill-fated Sixth Regiment, but was with the detachment which 
passed safely through Baltimore at the time of the massacre, and 
proceeded directly to the Capital. The Light Infantry's term of 
service was mostly spent in Maryland, and the company arrived 
home August i. On the 20th of April the Third Battalion Rifles, 
made up of the City Guards, the Emmet Guards, and the Holden 
Rifles, under command of Major Charles Devens, followed the 
Light Infantry. The Battalion was on duty around Baltimore 
most of the time until it returned the 2d of August. On the 28th 



of June Camp Scott at South Worcester was occupied by the 
Fifteenth Regiment, the first Worcester County regiment, with 
Charles Devens as colonel. This regiment participated in the 
disastrous battle of Ball's Bluff, and also in the battles of Fair 
Oaks, Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and others. It arrived 
home July 21, 1864 with its numbers reduced to 150 men. 

The Twenty-first Regiment went into camp on the 19th of July. 
The Agricultural or Fair Grounds were occupied, and the name 
Camp Lincoln was given in honor of ex-Governor Levi Lincoln. 
The regiment departed for the seat of war August 23d, embarked 
for North Carolina on the Burnside expedition, and took part in 
the battles of Roanoke and New Berne. The next spring it was 
sent to Virginia, and was in the battles of second Bull Run, Chan- 
tilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, the Wilderness 
and others. It was mustered out August 30, 1864. 

The Twenty-fifth Regiment left Worcester October 31, 1861. 
It formed a part of the forces of the Burnside expedition, was at 
Roanoke and New Berne, and remained in North Carolina until 
the fall of 1S63. The next spring and summer the regiment saw 
hard service, passed through Drewry's Bluif, Cold Harbor and 
other battles, and spent the last months before Petersburg. It 
arrived home (excepting a portion that had ret^nlisted the winter 
before), October 13, 1864. 

The Thirty-fourth Regiment departed on the 15th of August, 
1862, and was in service till July 6, 1865. It took part in the 
battles of New Market, Cedar Creek, Piedmont, Lynchburg, 
Winchester and others. The Thirty- sixth Regiment followed the 
last September 2d, 1862, and returned June 21, 1865. It passed 
through Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court 
House, and other battles, performed much hard service and made 



lO 

many long marches. The Fifty-first Regiment, which enlisted for 
nine months, left November 25, 1862, and returned July 21, 1863. 
Most of its service was in North Carolina. On the iSth of April, 
1864, the Fifty-seventh Regiment, the last of the Worcester County 
regiments, proceeded to the scene of conflict. This regiment was 
in the battle of the Wilderness and numerous minor encounters, 
and spent the summer before Petersburg. It was mustered out 
in August, 1865. 

In the list of Worcester's martyrs in the Rebellion the names 
of John William Grout, who fell at Ball's Bluff, General George 
H. Ward, who fell at Gettysburg, and for whom the local Grand 
Army post was named, Thomas J. Spurr, S. F. Haven, Jr., Dexter 
F. Parker, Rev. Samuel Souther, the Wellingtons, the Bacons, 
Thomas O'Neil and Henry McConville are prominent. Of those 
who gained distinction in the conflict Charles Devens, Josiah 
Pickett, William S. Lincoln and A. B, R. Sprague are well-known. 
Worcester sent 3,927 men to the War for the Union, at a total 
direct money cost of $586,054. Of this amount $245,653 was 
paid for bounties and expense of recruiting ; $93,650 commuta- 
tion and substitutes; and $246,751 State aid to families. 

Rev. Abijah P. Marvin's JFonrsfer in the War of the Rebellion 
is an interesting and valuable book, which gives a very full account 
of Worcester's part in sustaining the Union. Some hasty and un- 
just criticism followed its publication in consequence of certain 
errors made at the Adjutant-General's office, for which the author 
was not responsible. Most of these errors are corrected in the 
last edition. Histories of the Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth, Thirty- 
fourth and Thirty-sixth regiments have been published. The Story 
of Compa?iy A, Twenty-fifth Regiment, by Samuel H. Putnam, 
has been widely noticed and much commended as a true picture 



II 

of the daily life of a soldier. The history of the " Fighting Fif- 
teenth " is now in course of preparation. 

The memory of Worcester soldiers is kept green by two worthy 
memorials of stone and bronze on the Common. The marble 
monument to Colonel Timothy Bigelow of the Revolution was 
dedicated on the 19th of April, 1861, almost at the same hour that 
Massachusetts soldiers were pouring out their blood in the streets 
of Baltimore on that fateful day. The beautiful Soldiers' Monu- 
ment further east on the same ground was erected in 1874 at a 
cost of over §50,000. A tall brown-stone shaft in Rural Ceme- 
tery commemorates the bravery and life-sacrifice of General 
George B. Boomer, who fell at Champion Hill, May 22, 1863. 
The memory of Sergeant Plunkett, "The Armless Hero of Fred- 
ericksburg," is honored by a portrait in Mechanics Hall. 

George H. Ward Post, No. 10, was organized April 13, 1865. 
Between two and three thousand members have joined this Post 
since its formation, and many thousand dollars have been dis- 
pensed in relief funds. The Women's Rehef Corps and the Sons 
of Veterans were formed in 1883, and the Daughters of Veterans 
in 1890, all auxiliary to the Grand Army. 

Of Worcester military companies, past and present. The 
Worcester Artillery was active from 1783 to 1838. The Inde- 
pendent Cadets, formed during the threatened war with France 
in 1798, disbanded soon after. The Light Infantry was organ- 
ized in 1804. This company responded to the calls of the 
country in 1814 and 1861. It is now a part of the State militia. 
The Worcester Cavalry was in existence some twenty years, cer- 
tainly from i8i3to 1826. Thewhite silk flag of this company, now in 
the possession of Albert A. Lovell of Medfield, has the State arms 
and the mottoes : "God armeth the Patriot" and " For God and 



12 

Our Country" on one side, and "Worcester Cavalry, ist Brigade, 
Sixth Division," on the other. The Worcester Rifle Corps, es- 
tabhshed in 1S23, was disbanded in 1835. The City Guards, 
organized as the Harrison Guards in 1840, is now attached to the 
mihtia. It was in the three months' service in the Rebelhon. A 
history of this company has recently been prepared by Lieutenant 
Samuel Hathaway. The Jackson Guards was an Irish company 
which was suppressed by Governor Gardner in Know-Nothing 
times. The Emmet Guards, formed in i860, was in the three 
months' service in 1861, and is now a part of the State militia. 
The Chamberlain Light Battery ("Battery B, M. V. M.), is of 
more recent organization, and the Wellington Rifles is a militia 
company formed in 1894. The new Armory building, at the 
junction of Salisbury and Grove streets, was completed in 1890, 
at a cost of nearly Si 25,000. 

The State Guards, organized in 1861, will be remembered for 
the valuable service performed in war-time in doing escort duty 
at soldiers' funerals and on other necessary occasions. It was 
composed mostly of elderly men. This company made its last 
public appearance at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument, 
July 15, 1874. The Worcester Continentals, the only indepen- 
dent company at present, paraded for the first time July 4, 1876. 
The uniform is nearly a fac-simile of that worn by revolutionary 
soldiers, and the company always attracts much attention, and 
has gained a wide reputation. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0014 110889 A 



